YNT-eligible lower division-pro players: 2021 IN-SEASON thread

I saw that game. He had a hard game. Phoenix shot more than 20 times at goal. He made great saves and I think he was the best player for Las Vegas.
Mauricio Gutierrez '03 was to the bench for the first time. He was called to a U16 camp in the past.

 

I think some of these signings are a way to navigate around the MLS rules.

 

LAFC bringing interesting players into the fold with low opportunity cost is a good thing imo! The best ones will get their chances in training with LAFC (I think our supplemental slots are full, but Cal Jennings is a senior roster slot). Better for Gaines, Rando, etc to be evaluated in an MLS 2 system than not

 

'03 English-American CB Ethan Hardin had his first pro goal. Already the second assist of the season for '04 USYNT LB Noah Allen.

Interestingly, these two players are tied for first in minutes for *all* players in USL League One, the only two to play seven full 90s. https://t.co/0kUpjiyfRe

— ChuckMe92 Soccer (@ChuckMe92Soccer) May 23, 2021

 

Is that @schrutebuck ?

 

what is the alex rando / rainn wilson connection again lol

 

Ft. Lauderdale: Why doesn't Dairon Reyes ('03) start? I don't get it. He's very clearly one of their best players, if not their best player. IMO, Reyes is a better player and prospect than Azcona (same YOB) who is playing regularly with the first team. There might not be a better young left-footed dribbler playing soccer in this country than Reyes. He skips past players so easily. He's also able to pass the ball, and show a good understanding of the game. The coach of the team is Jason Kreis, so there's more fodder to the discussion. He's not a big favorite among many, so this may not come as a surprise that Reyes barely plays. I didn't see Noah Allen's ('04) full performance because I tuned in to see the minutes Reyes played, but Allen looked good. Made a few nice plays defensively.

New England II: Noel Buck ('05) scored a nice goal, and nearly had a second. He wasn't that involved in the game though, and he hasn't been any better than able to hold his own at this level so far in his appearances this season. He's a #8 who has grown a lot taller in the last year, and now is no longer under-sized. Left-footed CM with a good passing range. He's able to better get around the field now, but I wouldn't consider him overly athletic or possessing a great motor defensively. I think he'll need another year at this level, but I think he's a good player and will get a first team contract probably by the start of next season, if not sooner.

Sacramento: Brief appearance for Mario Penagos ('02). He came on as some type of forward. Didn't add much, mostly just energy. Julian Chavez ('02) came on even later than Penagos as a LW. I've seen very little of Chavez, so I'm not sure, but I believe he's a RB. Both subs seemed like getting some young players minutes late on in a game that was over without putting them in their best positions where the coach believes they could hurt the team defensively. Not a great strategy, considering these kids are 18 years old and USL is not a very high level.

Las Vegas: Julian Gaines ('02) has moved to RB, which I believe I've mentioned before as something he'd need to do. He looks really good at RB. He's so much further ahead of a similar style player like Collin Smith with his attentiveness defensively, and being able to read the actions of attackers. I wouldn't consider him a defensive liability at this level, and he's pretty good going forward as a natural winger/striker. He's big, fast, a good dribbler, and combines well into the attacking third. I think he could provide for LAFC next season a lot of what Reynolds provided for FC Dallas.

Bryce Duke ('01) is really good at this level, and probably should be getting regular MLS minutes. LAFC needs to start doing a little better with getting him minutes. Frank Daroma ('01) is not as ready for MLS minutes as Duke, but I like what I see and I think he's going to be an MLS'er in a year or two. Similar positionally (double 8 or 10), but he's quicker. Lacks the passing range of Duke though IMO. Christian Torres ('04) came on in the second half, and wasn't able to get very involved. Paul Son ('03) also came on in the second half. He was playing as a winger. This was his pro debut, but like Torres he added little.

Tacoma Defiance: Alex Villanueva ('02) has been a lot better defensively this season, as I previously mentioned. Thats very important for his development because going forward he's a good player. I don't know that he's hugely dynamic going forward, but he's quick, he's a good dribbler, he combines well in the final third, and has the winger instincts to play in those areas of the field. I think he could get signed to a contract by Seattle, but if not he could have success at another MLS club. Eric Kinzner ('03) has been a little better this season than last season defensively. I don't think he's that talented, but as a big left-footed CB he has some value, and could eventually be an MLS'er.

Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez ('02) is way too good for USL. You can tell that the level does not challenge him because his speed of thought and risk management is unusually good. A young attacker should lose the ball more often and not be able to play around the other team so easily. The speed of the game is too low for him. I watched two games he played at this level. He scored a goal, and was the reason for almost all their attacking chances. Previously people were unsure if he's right footed or left-footed. He missed a chance with his left foot that I think showed he's right-footed. He scuffed it bad enough that I don't think a player would scuff to that level with their strong foot. He needs to be in MLS. I don't understand why he's not. What Seattle has done with his development since he signed is so puzzling.

Cody Baker ('04) looks really good so far in his first two appearances. He was playing as a RCB in a back 3, which suits him well. He's a tweener between RB and CB. I think his best position is as a DM, but he can also play as a defender. His passing really stood at in these games, and defensively he's so steady. He's not the biggest or most athletic, but he's not slow or small either. I think he's one of these defensive players who can play a number of defensive positions because defensively he reads the game at such a high level, and is able to adjust to the different roles asked of him. I think he's going to get a first team contract within the next year. He's probably the next player Seattle will sign.

NYRB II: Roald Mitchell ('03) has some good tools, but I think he's just lacking the goal-scoring quality to be a really good CF prospect. In the final third I don't see striker instincts. He doesn't really look to shoot or get himself into great positions. I wouldn't be surprised if he moved to the position recently. His goal scoring numbers in his career aren't that good either. He has decent size, he's athletic, he makes good decisions with the ball, and he's good in the air. Curtis Ofori ('05) is struggling to adjust to USL IMO. He's a step behind defensively, and he's not a player who adds much going forward. I don't think thats a huge cause for concern, considering his age, but he's not that close to being an MLS player. He probably will need two full seasons in USL (2021 and 2022) before he's considered for MLS minutes.

Daniel Edelman ('03) continues to put together a very dependable season for NYRB II. I think next season he will be a consideration for first team minutes, and a first team contract cannot be far away.

SKC II: Kayden Pierre ('03) had a much better game defensively than what I saw earlier in the season. He needs to build on that. Bailey Sparks ('02) was very quiet, and had nearly no impact.

LAG II: Cameron Dunbar ('02) was active, but not as good as you'd expect for a first team player brought down to play in USL. He didn't create as many chances as you like, and he wasn't clinical. Marcus Ferkranus ('03) has been really good. I don't think he's had a bad game all season, and he's probably been a top 3-4 player in every game I've seen so far for LAG II.

Real Monarchs: Jeff Dewsnup ('04) had another impressive game. I posted a few days ago a double save sequence that won save of the week in USL. He's really cleaned up the errors he would make a year or two ago, and now I don't see any holes in his game. As I've said before, he's more talented than Chris Brady, and if he ever cleaned up the stupid errors he would make he would become the best GK in the '04 age group. I think we are seeing that this season. He's going to need another year or two in USL, but he's going to be starting in MLS before too long IMO.

Christian Nydegger ('03) had no real impact. He was replaced by Griffin Dillon ('03). This was the first time I've seen Dillon play. I didn't see much that makes me think he's a real prospect. Pearse O'Brien ('04) came on for his debut in the second half, and had some very nice offensive sequences. He nearly scored. He looked the best of the young American Monarch field players. Abel Mendoza ('03) also came on in the second half. This was his debut. He was playing as a RB.

Atlanta II: Tyler Wolff ('03) has been a lot better this season than what I've seen of him previously. He's been very clinical in the final third. He's not dominating games, but he's getting himself into good attacking positions, and he's influencing goals. I don't know that he's a hugely talented player, but he's good enough to be an MLS regular as a #10 IMO eventually, and maybe next year he can earn some minutes. Caleb Wiley ('04) isn't adding much impact going forward. Defensively, he was very erratic in the one game (of two Atlanta games I watched) that he played, but it was good enough to get by. I think he's about a season and a half away from MLS minutes, if not longer. Maybe mid-2022 he could be ready for MLS, but he's not close now.

George Campbell ('01) only played one half. He didn't do much notable, but one thing I've noticed is how big he's gotten. He's a full-fledged 6'4 200+ IMO. He moves pretty well for a CB of his size though, although I would not say he's fast. Efrain Morales ('04) played two games, one at CB, another at DM. I've said many times my stance on this. He's a midfielder. He didn't have much impact in either game. One thing I've also noticed is that he's getting very few minutes in USL for a player on a first team contract. I think Atlanta realizes how raw he is, and that its going to take him some time to develop, so I would not expect him to feature anytime soon for the first team. Morales is a great athlete IMO with some very good tools. He doesn't look as athletic as he is, but there are few better all-around athletes in the system than Morales.

Will Reilly ('02) had an impactful appearance off the field at halftime. I don't know why he's played so little this season, and he's certainly no worse than a good USL player right now. He should be pushing for MLS minutes right now.

San Antonio: Jose Gallegos ('01) didn't have much impact in his first appearance of the season. Fabrizio Bernal ('03) was more impactful. He had a nice pass that should've resulted in a goal, but the attacker wasted the game. He also had a really nice turn and dribble to draw a foul. The stream cut out late in the game. Leo Torres ('04) also played, but I didn't see any of it. One thing I must mention is how little playing time these young players are getting. I know San Antonio is a veteran USL team, but I think they have an obligation to get these kids like Bernal and Torres more minutes than they get. These guys are elite level players for their age group. They shouldn't be lucky to reach 40 minutes in a month. No USL team is good enough that they shouldn't be playing every game, and pushing to start games (or starting every game).

Loudoun: Owen Walz ('04) had a very rough start to his first pro game, but settled down. This is the first game I had seen him play. He was playing LCB (right-footed) in a back 3. He looks to be a CB. He passes the ball pretty well, and has decent size. I don't know that he's ready for USL defensively, but he only played 45 minutes.

 

Urinetown was pretty good. Doing the breaking the fourth wall thing before it became really popular.

 

Kries was promoted to a first team assistant after last season, I think Reyes' lack of playing time under the current Fort Lauderdale head coach is more concerning than it was under Kries last season as the current coach is the director of player development with Inter Miami.

 

According to 3rd Degree Twitter, JOGO has been called up to the SENIOR Mexican National Team. Guess they are making a play for our best 03.

 

It’s getting absurd!

 

As noted by a follower of mine on Twitter, El Paso Locomotive apparently signed '03 d-mid Edwin Villarreal to a USL Academy deal.

He is from El Paso and was a starter for the US U16s in the spring/summer of 2018 in the early part of that cycle when he was with FCD's academy. Trained with Pachuca in Mexico then ended up joining the Locomotive youth setup. They had a tweet up for maybe 10 minutes (including video of him and three others signing whose names I don't recall) then deleted it. El Paso is obviously a hotbed for youth talent so it's good to see some semblance of a local pro pathway forming. '03 Diego Luna looked really good in his 12-minute debut too.

 

Well, it looks like it's time to cross Reyes' name off the list if there was ever a chance it being on the list in the first place.

🚨 Called up 🚨https://t.co/bot8jvIOE5

— Inter Miami CF II (@Intermiamicfii) May 25, 2021

 

He might not be capped, so until that happens, it doesn’t matter.

I can’t find at what age he got here, but it doesn’t seem like it’s been long. I’d speculate 2-3 years from what I can find on google. I suspect he’s not a citizen, but maybe he is. An app I use for soccer news and coverage lists him as American. It may be inaccurate.

If he does get capped, aren’t there new FIFA rules for a player switching later on to another country? How does that apply if the player isn’t yet a citizen of the country they could switch to at the time of being capped? I know the old rules meant players couldn’t switch (Diego Fagundez).

However, this is a good example of the lack of YNT camps hurting our program once again. Is he accepting a cap-tying call up to Cuba if he’s called into a US U-18 camp?

 

NEWS: Roald Mitchell has been named to the Week 5 @USLChampionship
Team of the Week ⭐️

📰➡️ https://t.co/kwdRrys19h#NYRBII pic.twitter.com/u4YtSToRW7

— New York Red Bulls II (@NYRBII) May 25, 2021

 

Best performers of the USLC season so far among 01 and younger players who are American or developed in the USA:

 

I've never heard of him before. Have you seen him play?

 

What does "Receiving" mean in this context?

 

I'm sure Thundering can do better, but it's basically the value assigned to the player based on where they receive a pass. The best real skill comparison is making runs into dangerous places in the box.

On a great through ball, the value of that pass isn't just given to the passer, but some portion to the receiver for making the run, successfully pulling it in, etc.

It tends to be the place in the G+ model where top goalscorers differentiate themselves.

 

@Thundering165 How is the value split between the passer and receiver?